Aston Martin crossover may deepen Daimler partnership

GENEVA: Aston Martin on Tuesday announced plans for a luxury crossover SUV that may draw more heavily on its partnership with Daimler, as the British sports car maker confirmed moves to raise more capital and expand into new vehicle categories.

Aston has secured about 150 million pounds ($230 million) in additional funding, Chief Executive Andy Palmer said in an interview at the Geneva car show before unveiling an electric DBX concept car prefiguring the new vehicle, expected by 2019.

Palmer said Aston's main shareholders, private equity groups Investindustrial and Investment Dar of Kuwait, had agreed to back the capital hike and range expansion first reported by Reuters in December.

He acknowledged that the future production SUV model could use a four-wheel drive architecture from 5 percent shareholder Daimler, which is already supplying Aston with electronics and V8 engines from its AMG performance division under a 2013 deal.

"It's not ruled out, nor is it agreed," Palmer said, without elaborating. A Daimler spokesman declined to comment.

The cash injection, in addition to 500 million pounds already earmarked for a revamp of the core sports car lineup, will enable Aston to hit a "consistently sustainable" level of spending on new models, Palmer said.